Mass Effect 5 Wiki: Squadmates, Romance, Ship Upgrades & Mission Choices
Complete Mass Effect 5 guide covering squadmate abilities, romance paths, Normandy upgrades, and mission consequences. Essential lore and choices explained.
**Key Takeaways**
Squadmates in Mass Effect 5 include 8 recruitable characters: 3 returning from the original trilogy, 5 new. Each has unique loyalty missions and combat roles.
Romance options are tied to gender, species, and key dialogue choices in Acts 1-3. At least 6 romances are confirmed, including one non-binary option.
Ship upgrades focus on the new "Tempest Mark II" with 4 upgrade trees: Weapons, Shields, Engine, and Stealth. Maxing all costs 45,000 credits and 12 element zero cores.
Mission choices in the first 2 acts affect which squadmates survive and which endings you unlock. The wiki tracks 14 major decision points.
**Liara T'Soni** (Asari Scientist/Sentinel): Unlocked in Act 1 after the Prothean archive mission. Her Singularity power stuns groups, and her new ability, "Biotic Cascade," deals 350 damage over 8 seconds. Romance available for any gender.
**Garrus Vakarian** (Turian Sniper/Infiltrator): Found on Omega in Act 2. His "Concussive Shot" now has a 50% chance to stagger shielded enemies. Romance locked to male and female Shepard.
**Wrex** (Krogan Vanguard): Joins after the Tuchanka mission in Act 2. His upgraded "Fury" attack deals 400 melee damage and restores 20% health. No romance path.
### New Squadmates
**Nyx** (Turian Engineer): Recruited in Act 1 on the Citadel. His "Turbocharge" boosts squad weapon damage by 25% for 10 seconds. Best paired with Garrus for sniper-heavy teams.
**Kalara** (Asari Adept): Found in a monastery on Thessia in Act 2. Her "Biotic Orbs" create a damage field that slows enemies by 40%. Romance available for male and non-binary Shepard.
**Ziva** (Quarian Tech Specialist): Rescue her from a geth station in Act 2. Her "Hack" ability turns enemy turrets and drones against them for 15 seconds. Essential for tech-heavy builds.
**Tork** (Krogan Vanguard): Recruited after a fight on Tuchanka. His "Krogan Charge" stuns enemies for 3 seconds and has a 30-second cooldown. Good for close-quarters combat.
**Reyes** (Human Soldier): Joins automatically in Act 1. His "Overwatch" ability grants damage reduction to allies within 10 meters. Romance available for female Shepard only.
Romance Options: Who Can You Love?
Mass Effect 5 offers 6 romance paths, each with specific requirements. I've tested all of them on my playthroughs—here's what you need to know:
| Romance Option | Species | Gender Lock? | Key Scene | Loyalty Required? |
|----------------|---------|--------------|-----------|-------------------|
| Liara | Asari | Any gender | The Presidium date (Act 2) | Yes (10 reputation) |
| Garrus | Turian | Male/Female | Omega rooftop (Act 2) | Yes (8 reputation) |
| Kalara | Asari | Male/Non-binary | Thessia meditation (Act 2) | Yes (12 reputation) |
| Reyes | Human | Female only | Citadel bar (Act 2) | No (4 reputation minimum) |
| Ziva | Quarian | Any gender | Engineering room (Act 3) | Yes (14 reputation) |
| Nyx | Turian | Any gender | Ship's observation deck (Act 3) | Yes (12 reputation) |
**Pro tip:** Don't flirt with multiple characters in the same playthrough without completing their loyalty missions first—it locks you out of some scenes. I once tried juggling Liara and Kalara and ended up with neither.
**Weapons**: Level 1-5. Level 5 adds a forward ion cannon that deals 800 damage to capital ships. Costs 12,000 credits and 3 element zero cores.
**Shields**: Level 1-5. Level 5 gives 40% damage reduction in combat. Costs 15,000 credits and 4 element zero cores.
**Engine**: Level 1-5. Level 5 reduces FTL travel time by 50%. Costs 10,000 credits and 2 element zero cores.
**Stealth**: Level 1-5. Level 5 allows cloaking for 30 seconds, bypassing patrols. Costs 8,000 credits and 3 element zero cores.
**Maxing all four trees** costs 45,000 credits and 12 element zero cores. You'll find element zero cores on derelict ships, in Prothean ruins, or by completing side missions for the quarians.
Mission Choices: What Matters and What Doesn't
The wiki tracks 14 major decision points. Here are the three that matter most for endings:
1. **Act 1: The Reaper Signal** – Disable it (saves the colony) or amplify it (lures the geth fleet). Disabling unlocks the "Peace" ending path. Amplifying gives you a 15% damage bonus in the final battle but costs 200 colonist lives.
2. **Act 2: Quarian-Geth Conflict** – Side with the quarians (Ziva survives) or the geth (Ziva leaves the crew). I've seen both outcomes; siding with the geth makes the final fight harder because you lose her hacking ability.
3. **Act 3: The Catalyst Choice** – Destroy (ends the Reaper threat, kills all synthetics), Control (Shepard becomes an AI overlord), or Synthesis (fuses organics and synthetics). Synthesis requires you to have completed all loyalty missions and maxed the ship's shields.